OverDressed for Life

President Obama and Pope Francis – both just as dashing in their own way.

Pope Francis wears exactly the same outfits throughout the year: Cassocks in heavier, warmer woolen cloth during the winter and lighter woolen fabrics during the summer. He wants only natural white, not optical, which is obtained only with a dye. Natural wool is cream ivory.

– Ditta Annibale Gammarelli, Pope Francis’ tailor shop. Located in Rome, this shop has been tailoring the ecclesiastical clothing of bishops, priests, and popes since 1798.

Pope Francis is known for being humble and thrifty when it comes to his attire. Unlike many of his predecessors, this pope chooses a white cassock instead of the more flashy red velvet; he sports simple black leather shoes make by an old friend (Pope Benedict liked red shoes by Prada); bling gold crosses are out replaced by an iron cross he has worn since his anointment as auxiliary bishop of Buenos Aires in 1992.

Pope Francis proves that simplicity is often the most stylish.